Shoemaking



Jan. 17, 1939. K. A, STRITTER SHOEMAKING Filed Dec. 4, 1936 5/ 51am. By %507776g6 Patented Jan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of womens shoes and in one aspect consists in an improved process of shoe making in accordance with which shoes of improved shape 5 and superior wearing properties may be produced in an economical and commercially practicable manner. In another aspect my invention consists in the improved shoe herein shown as produced by the process of my invention.

In the manufacture of cement bottom shoes as heretofore carried out, it has been found objectionable to channel the forepart of the outsole or in any other way impair the solid leather characteristics thereof since, during wear, channeled soles exhibit an objectionable tendency to peel or otherwise lose the finefinish imparted to them by the manufacturer. On the other hand, it is desirable to secure the benefits of a seam in the shoe bottom to increase the wear and maintain the shape of the product. This desirable result may be secured in accordance with the process of my invention by providing an outsole which includes a solid leather forepart and a shank portion channeled or grooved to receive and conceal a through-and-through seam. The term solid forepart is used herein to designate a sole in which the leather of the forepart has not been disturbed by channeling or splitting but remains intact and homogeneous and which may be worn down without exposing a concealed groove or seam.

In carrying my invention into practice it has been found desirable to prepare an insole unit which includes a full-length insole blank, a shank piece and an interposed metal shank stifiener secured together and molded to the curvature of the-last bottom. This provides a strong, rigid shank portion to which the outsole may be subsequently stitched and in accordance with my invention this stitching operation may be carried out in such a manner as to enclose or seal the metal shank stiffener in place so that it is firmly and reliably held during the wear of the shoe even though it may be separated from the parts of the unit; in other words, I provide a completely sealed-in. or covered shank stiffener.

An insole unit ofithe character outlined presents the additional advantage that it may be fitted before it comes to the making room, as by having a horseshoe shaped chip removed from the margin around the heel seat portion, to receive the inturned flange of a molded counter and thus a particularly smooth and compact heel seat may be produced.

The process of my invention will be best und'erstood from the following description of one manner in which it may be put into practice as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1' isa view in perspective showing the insole unit and counter upon a last,

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the upper in lasted condition,

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a channeled outsole in position upon the lasted upper,

Fig. .4 is a View in perspective illustrative of the shank sewing operation,

Fig; 5 is a plan view of the finished shoe, the toe portion being broken away,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing: the rear portion of the insole unit and counter.

In carrying out the improved process of my invention in its illustrated form an insole unit is first prepared which includes in its structure an insole blank H, a shank piece it and a metal shank stiffener l5. As herein shown the insole blank H is of full length, conforming to the contour of the last bottom with which it is to be used. The insole herein shown has a composite forepa-rt including a cemented insert IE, but any suitable insole of leather or fibrous composition may be employed; The shank piece I3 extends from the ball line to the heel seat and includes an arch supporting wing or cookie 14' as an integral extension from its inside shank edge. This wing has a scalloped outer edge as will be seen in Fig. 1, and this scalloped configuration of the wing facilitates shaping it to the curvature of the last and tends to preserve its shape in the finished shoe without tendency to curl. The metal shank stiffener i5 is of wellknown commercial construction, having a longitudinal corrugation for stiffness and being provided at both ends with prongs by which it may be attached to the concealed surface of the shank piece. In preparing the insole unit the shank stifiener i5 is secured to the shank piece and then the shank piece and insole l are cemented together with the shank piece above the insole andwith the shank stiffener between them and thenthe unit is molded by suitable dies or molds to correspond with the longitudinal and transverse curvature of the last; that is to say, the heel seat is slightly dished, the shank portion is curved longitudinally and downwardly in a sharp curvature forwardly of the breast line and the shank portion of the unit curved transversely so that it presents a convex lower surface and a slightly concave upper surface in the finished V and unbroken surface to which the outsole can "be cemented. I have therefore provided for use shoe. Preferably the molding operation may be effected before the cement is entirely set.

The resulting unit presents a rigid, molded shank portion of pronounced curvature and a flat flexible forepart in advance of the ball line;

Furthermore, the bottom face of the unit is the bottom face of the insole, thus providing a whole in shoe making an insole unit presenting a surface for the lasting operation which is smooth and unobstructed by a shank stiffener or otherwise and which supplies a surface particularly well adapted for attachment by cement to the outsole.

The insole unit thus produced is now temporarily tacked to the bottom of the last as shown in Fig. 1 with the insole uppermost. An important feature of my improved process consists in the step of interfltting a molded counter 24 with the insole unit with a view to securing a flat and compact heel seat in the finished shoe. For this purpose I remove entirely the marginal portion of the heel seat of the insole thereby leaving a horseshoe-shaped recess of sufiicient length and width to receive smoothly the inturned flange of the molded counter 24 as suggested in Figsl and 6. The removal of the marginal portion of the insole exposes the marginal portion of the shank piece at its heel seat, and it is to this exposed marginal portion of the shank piece that the inturned flange of the counter it attached. The recess formed in the margin of insole unit may extend forwardly 16 may be assembled upon the last NJ and the lasting operation carried out 1 with the use of cement or otherwise. In Fig. '2 the upper I6 is represented as being cement-lasted about the entire margin of the insole unit, the overlasted margin of the upper l6 beingcemented in fiat condition upon the surface of the insole and trimmed if necessary to remove surplus pleated material 7 and present a substantially flat surface.

Meanwhile the outsole l 8 has been prepared by molding to the contour of the last bottomand by channeling at opposite edges throughout the shank and heel seat portions thereof. It is important from the standpoint of the present invention to maintain the forepart of the outsole intact so that it presents solid undisturbed leather where it is brought into contact with the ground in ordinary wear. The outsole l8 may now be laid and cemented firmly to the bottom of the lasted shoe and the channel flaps 19 may be lifted to expose the channels of the outsole. The outsole is represented in Fig. 3 as being cemented permanently in place on the shoe bottom and it will be understood that the channel flaps I9 are lifted after the sole laying and cementing with the needle 2| is employed to form two chain stitch seams 20 located respectively along the opposite edges of the shank portion of the shoe and extending substantially from the ball line of the shoe to the breast line of the heel seat. The seams 20 pass through the shank piece l3, the insole blank I l and the outsole l8 and are disposed upon opposite sides of the metal shank stiffener l5, thus not only reinforcing the shank of the shoe and furnishing additional holding means for the outsole, but providing a secure seal for the metal shank stiffener I5 so that the latter is held securely in place during the wear of the shoe even though its holding prongs may be broken or other wise rendered inefiective.

The process of my invention is in no sense limited to the employment of a chain stitch as suggested in Fig. 4 but contemplates a lock-stitch seam should that be preferred or be found more convenient. Itmay also'be desirable to provide a metatarsal pad on the insole forwardly of the shank piece l3, such a pad 26 being illustrated in Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 'as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,-

1. The process'of shoemaking which consists in assembling an insole and a shank piece in superposed relation with'a shank stiffener between them, molding the unit thus formed to the curvature of a last bottom, cutting away a marginal segment at the rear end of the insole, and fastening the flange of a molded counter to the shank piece in the space so provided,

2. The process of shoemaking which consists in cementing an insole and a shank piece together with a shank stiffener between them, cutting away a marginal segment of the insole beneath the heel-seat portion of the shank piece, and fastening the flange of a molded counter to the shank piece in the space so provided.

3. A shoe having an 'insole and a shank piece stitched together with the shank piece uppermost and ashank stiffener between them, the marginal portion of the insole'being'removed in the heelseat beneath the rear end of the shank piece, and a molded counter secured to the shank piece with its flange in the space so provided.

4. A shoe having an insole and a shank piece stitched together in superposed relation with the shank piece uppermost and a shankstifiener between them, said'parts being united in longitudinal curved shape and the marginal portion of one part removed. in the heel-seat, and a molded counter secured to the other of said parts with its flange in the space so provided.

' KARL A. STRITTER. 

